United Way of Spokane County

What it reported doing in 2024

Financial Stability: Funding provided to community agencies and community members for programs that support improving the financial stability of low-income households in Spokane County, WA, especially low-income families with children.Volunteer Services: The organization supports individual, group, and corporate volunteer engagement as a strategy to fulfill its mission. To support its financial stability work, Spokane County United Way promoted a free self-filing tool, www.MyFreeTaxes.com. Members of the Emerging Leaders Society contributed talent and 170 volunteer hours to projects in the community with local nonprofit agencies. In addition, Spokane County United Way maintained a web-based platform, www.volunteerspokane.org, which served as a free resource to match community volunteers with opportunities at local nonprofit organizations. Spokane County United Way manages the selection and support of AmeriCorps VISTA projects and members in Spokane County in coordination with Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).Health: Funding is provided to local impact partners for programs directed at improving the health and safety of families in Spokane County, WA. Spokane County United Way provides financial support to local organizations that focus on preventing or mitigating the impact of child abuse, child neglect, domestic violence, mental illness, and substance abuse.Community Planning & Capacity: Staff participated in community collaborations to improve cultural competency, reduce youth and family homelessness, improve access to medical and dental services for low-income populations, reduce the impact of adverse childhood experiences, and improve the local early learning infrastructure.Labor relations: Spokane County United Way Labor Services works with the labor community to educate interested members about available health and human care services, recruit volunteers, for food drives, and recruit and place members of organized labor with volunteer opportunities in human and health care organizations.Homelessness Initiatives: Spokane County United Way partners with A Way Home Washington to help participating communities improve their data collection methods, advocate for legislative change, develop partnerships with systems and service providers, and implement projects that improve access to services and lead to equitable outcomes for all young people. Building on the success of the Anchor Community Initiative, United Way is launching Built for Zero Initiative with Community Solutions; a new effort to support homeless veterans and chronically homeless adults. This work is supported by funding United Way received from the Kaiser Permanente Foundation. Spokane County United Way joined the Built for Zero collaborative which is made up of more than 90 communities that have committed to measurably ending homelessness, one population at a time. Using data, communities have changed how local homeless response systems work and the impact they can achieve. Fourteen of the collaborative communities have ended homelessness for a population by reaching a standard called functional zero. More than half have achieved reductions in the number of people experiencing chronic and veteran homelessness.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 38.7%; rating input score 39
• Program expense ratio: 33.2%; rating input score 33
• Fundraising efficiency: $251.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 67.6%; rating input score 68; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -15.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.56; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 5.6%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -12.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -6.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings